Quote Sheet: MNUFC vs. RSL

On how he sums up this afternoon given the other results in the Western Conference …
“It’s a huge win in light of the other results. We were looking at them in the week and you’re thinking, we’ve put ourselves back under a lot of pressure again and then we respond. I’m really pleased with the response after going behind. I thought the energy levels were good. I thought our determination to get a result [was good]. I thought second half, we did some really good stuff. [We’ve] still got some stuff I’m not happy with and we’ll talk about that but in light of the results, it’s been a really good weekend for us.”

On what he saw from Darwin Quintero …
“I think I said after on the TV that if we are going to make a push from now to the end, we need our best players to come alive. Darwin [Quintero] is a difference maker. We know that but we need to see that on a consistent basis. We need to see him now, push on from that and if he does that will be really, really valuable for us moving forward. You hear me many, many times, talk about scoring goals and making goals and that’s why they go for the most money. That’s why you pay them the most money. It’s the hardest thing in football to do and when he does it well, he’s excellent.”

On if he has any idea why it’s been stop, start for Darwin Quintero this season …
“Not really but the most important thing is [that] I’m sure that’ll do his confidence a lot of good because even when you’re Darwin [Quintero’s] age and you’ve been through an awful lot in football, which he will have been, there’s nothing like scoring goals to get your confidence going and trusting your teammates and trusting yourself [so] that you think that I’m back to what I should be. Hopefully that’ll be a little turning point for him. We can piggy back on the back of him because like he did the first year that he arrived, that purple patch he had when everybody talks about the goals against Toronto. He scored them goals in that short period of time and if we can get him back to that level then it’s going to be a huge boost for everybody.”

On Darwin Quintero's feelings about being left out of the Open Cup Final …
“There’s a lot of ways to do this. There’s not a right way and a wrong way of telling players that you’re not playing. Bottom line is nobody likes being left out. I’ll do it the way I’ve always done it. I’ve had managers who call you in, I’ve had guys who don’t even tell you an hour before kickoff and they think they don’t have to explain. At the end of the day, I’ll do whatever I think is right for the team and for the club. I never pick players for any other reason than [that] I’m trying to win the game. If I feel that people will sit and people will give us a better chance of winning, I will always do the same regardless of the personnel so that’s not going to change.”

On what he wasn’t happy with from the game …
“I thought [in the] first half, we gave them too much space. I thought we could have defended even in the block that we had, I thought we could’ve been a lot further up the field. [The] line of confrontation could’ve been a little bit higher. But they possessed the ball well, they do well at getting out of from their back third into their middle third. [Damir] Kreilach is very, very smart, very experienced. [He] comes into the right pockets at the right time and gives them a bit of an overload in there. It was difficult but I thought our combination play at times in the first half was excellent when we got Robin [Lod] and Kevin [Molino] and Darwin [Quintero] on the ball because as I said, they are three of our better footballers and we need them to be on the ball creating and being as lively as they were at times.”

On Robin Lod and Kevin Molino being interchangeable …
“It is. It’s strange because I think for different reasons, the three of them. Robin [Lod] came in at the end of the season. He was on three weeks’ holiday when he got here so he’s still getting his fitness but I think you can see some of the qualities that he has. He’s fabulous on the ball, doesn’t give the ball away. Could’ve conceivably had a couple goals today, got himself in good spots and moving forward – I’ve already told him – I expect him to be a double figures wide guy. He has enough in his locker to get in good spots and he’s a good finisher. We’ll work on it and we’ll keep encouraging him to get in the right spots because he can score.”

On if there was a lull in Romain Metanire’s play after the AFCON …
“I think he came back extremely tired, not only physically but mentally [also]. It was an incredible run for the country, they’ve never had it before, the enthusiasm and everything that was going on around that cup run for them. I’m sure it took its toll. When he’s back to his best like he was today, my God, he’s something to play against.”

On hitting RSL on the counter attack …
“[It’s] getting people in the right spots. When you get really good attacking players and they know where to be and you can get the ball to them at the right time, it’s difficult to stop. People come in here and they try to take the middle of the field away. Well that’s okay because then we’ll go wide and you’ve got people like Romain [Metanire], who now is getting back to his best. They want to do that, that’s fine. We’ll go out wide and we’ll go up the field that way and we’ll deliver into the box that way. I thought there was some really good things to work on. It’s been a big week for us, mentally as well, to get over the disappointment of the performance in Houston. For them to respond the way they did, I’m delighted.”

On prioritizing Kevin Molino to play a big role tonight …
“Not really because Kevin [Molino] wasn’t well in the week and we didn’t [even] know until kickoff that Boxy [Michael Boxall] was going to be play. Boxy [Michael Boxall] hasn’t been well for the last couple days as well so I thought it was an incredible shift by him today. He’s been poorly for a few days. I thought the likes of him and Kevin [Molino], who haven’t really done much for the last two or three days, it was a big game for them.”

On what a home playoff game would mean to him …
“I think anybody would prefer to play at home. You only have to look at this league in general. Sort of, three quarters of most team’s points are taken at home. It proves that home field advantage is huge. This is becoming a really difficult place to play and if we can get a home playoff game – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I don’t fear playing anybody here, anybody. The importance of the win today and the results that have gone on around us gives us an opportunity for that but we’ve still got some difficult games to come, trust me.”

On what the team must do to secure a place in the playoffs …
“It’s [the upcoming games] are against everybody around us so every game is going to be like a cup final between now and the end of the season. We knew how important this game was before today and it’s going to be no easier next week at Portland and then Kansas – if they were to get a result today – they’d still think they’re in it. They have to come here [next] Wednesday. Hey, every game is going to be really, really important between now and the end of the season but we’ve given ourselves a good opportunity.”

On what Wilfried Moimbé-Tahrat gave the team in Chase Gasper’s absence …
“He’s experienced. He knows what his role is. He plays to his role and his responsibility. I was pleased with him.”

On if we are seeing more defending from Kevin Molino …
“Yeah. He’s trying to get back in there. I think he’s had a stop-start season and I’m not 100% certain that he’s been at his maximum fitness all year. It’s been one of them when he gets himself just about there and something’s happened to him. As I said, [it’s] a little bit like Darwin [Quintero]. If we are going to do what we want to do between now and the end of the season and then take that into the playoffs, we’re sure we’re going to need a really good Kevin Molino.”

MINNESOTA UNITED DEFENDER IKE OPARA

On if he’s seen the rest of the league results …
“I think just focusing on ourselves is big for us. We need to respond form Houston and we did that tonight. Our destiny's in our own hands. Obviously if the results go our way that’s great but we can control what we do from here on out so obviously it’s a big win for us.”

On what they learned from this game …
“It’s the type of thing where you learn from it [the loss in Houston] and you keep it moving. This time of year – especially where it’s pretty much a sprint now it's no longer a marathon – you don’t really have time to dole on games, you just have to respond and tonight we did that. Now we can have somewhat of a normal week of rest and training and get ready for Portland.”

On when he got the ball high up the field …
“That’s a strength of ours. I just think that that’s how the game flow was going the whole game. Salt Lake is a possession team, to the possession line and that leaves you exposed at times. When the space is there it's just kind of inevitable that you’ve got to take it. I think it was head up play by a lot of our guys to, to be able to run into that space and be willing.”

On having Darwin [Quintero] find his form right before the home stretch…
“It would be massive [for] him and everyone else. What he can do on the attack can be special for us and I think if he’s going to continue his form, hopefully, I like our chances moving forward.”

On potentially having a home playoff game …
“I think when I came to this club, the goal [was that] we’d make [the] playoffs and all of these things but [it] was also to show that we can build a franchise and a club here of consistency and a winning culture. Being able to do that with playoffs and hopefully hosting a home game I think is a good step in the right direction for this club. Hopefully we can get there and continue to build on tonight.”

On some of his teammates being sick like Michael Boxall for the match …
“I realize that he definitely might be a little bit more fatigued, so it’s just a little bit more work, but for those guys that gutted through it, that bugs been going through the whole team for the past week or two, and unfortunately they got it. To be able to respond and fight through it today, and be productive as well and not just being out there is impressive.”

On Romain Metanire’s hustle play on the sideline to keep the ball in, as well as him being involved in two of the three goals …
“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen that, but man that was a game. Romain [Metanire] really changed the game for us just with pure willingness and hustle and desire. You can’t teach that. It won’t show up in the box score, but that was unbelievable.”

On if him taking his time with coming back over the past month helped him hit his stride tonight …
“Everyone’s going through something at this time of the year. There’s international break, the African Cup of Nations, I could just go down a list for all of our guys. Everyone finds their dips [in form] unfortunately and he’s just needed to get his feet back under him. He’s had a lot of life changes in the past few months with another kid and whatnot, so hopefully he’s hitting his stride.”

On if RSL’s slight delay on their first half free kick fooled him at all …
“No. I knew that they were doing it, but it was still an unbelievable ball. It left whoever the first two guys were on our line dead to rights and luckily, I was there to make the play. Essentially, it was luck. That ball could’ve gone anywhere after deflecting off of me, and luckily it just didn’t go into the back of the net."

[ENG] “Happy for the win. It’s always great to help the team and always great to be on the score sheet. We work to score goals and to help the team as best we can, sometimes things don’t happen but let’s enjoy the things that went our way tonight.”

[ENG] “Well the Open Cup was a while ago, that’s in the past. After playing in Los Angeles I got injured and tried my best to recover in the best possible matter to come back strong and that was what happened.”

[ENG] “We are going step by step, we have not qualified yet. That is what we would like in the first playoff game, to be here at home but we cannot celebrate yet because we have not achieved it quite yet.”

[ENG] “Well that is what one wants, no? We work to close the season well, to be physically fit and looking to God to keep playing like this, without any bother or injury to be able to close out the season in the best possible way.”